Autoimmune Disease in Cornelius NC

We focus on a comprehensive approach for managing the autoimmune patient:

1. We will work to help identify and remove the trigger(s) that aggravate the immune system (foods, chemicals, hormonal imbalance, etc.).
2. We will use diet & lifestyle changes and specific supplements to reduce the existing body-wide inflammatory cascade. Supplements can help us to down-regulate pro-inflammatory processes and up-regulate anti-inflammatory processes or simply put ... our goal is to decrease the inflammation in your body!
3. We will work with you to repair any damage to the GI tract barrier (and any of the other 4 barriers that are breached). In other words, we need to fix your gut function.
4. We will help you support your damaged autoimmune target with specific supplements and/or medical hormone therapy (as in the case of thyroid and pancreas damage).
5. We will recommend the use of Brain-Based Therapy (functional neurology treatments) to mediate any abnormal brain and nervous system function contributing to your symptoms.

LAB WORK

When you come to Lake Norman Integrative Wellness, you can be sure that no stone will be left unturned in determining the exact cause of your condition. In addition to the state of the art treatment facility we have, we also will use advanced immune-based lab testing, especially in the treatment of chronic autoimmune conditions including Hashimoto's, Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis, Crohn's, ME/CFS, Peripheral Neuropathy, and many others. This allows us to determine the true cause of your condition and get you the best, fastest results possible in your care. Some of the tests that may be ordered by the doctors include:

• Food Sensitivity Testing- Our office may order tests to confirm if you have food sensitivities to foods such as gluten, dairy, egg, soy, yeast, corn, rice, meat, fish and more. If you have developed an intolerance to these foods it can weaken your digestive system and can also lead to inflammation in your body resulting in pain and fatigue.
• Complete Metabolic Panel- We use blood work to determine if there are disease processes that may be contributing to your chronic condition. This testing may include thyroid panels, CBC's, blood sugar levels, cholesterol levels, iron levels, vit. D levels, and more.
• Adrenal Stress testing- This test measures the function of the adrenal glands, also known as your "stress" glands. This test measure the function of your cortisone, cortisol and DHEA levels over a 24 hour period of time. This test is a must if you are currently or have been under high levels of stress.
• Immune Panel- We run TH1/TH2 and tissue antibody panels to determine if you are suffering from an autoimmune condition, where your immune system has began attacking your own body. Running the immune panels allows us to determine if you have an autoimmune condition. We will help determine if your immune system is attacking your body (immune dysregulation) or being attacked by infections or other toxins (active antigen pattern).
• Hormone Panel- We use tests that assess for testosterone levels in males or progesterone/estrogen levels in females. Imbalances in hormonal regulation are extremely common in todays society. In our office we look for the underlying causes that are leading to the hormonal imbalances and look to support these pathways.
• Gut Ecology Profiling- In the case of suspected autoimmune disease it is important to evaluate for underlying infections in the intestinal tract. This testing allows us to check for probiotic status in the gut. It also evaluates for pathogenic bacterial infections, parasitic infections, fungal infections, and yeast overgrowths.

infections:

We run tests that check for a wide range of toxic infections including H. Pylori bacteria, Lyme Disease and Lyme co-infections, EBV/CMV Viruses, and over 100 other infections that can impact a patient's immune dysfunction. We are also looking for parasites, mold, yeast and fungi, which is what a majority of patients with gastro-intestinal dysfunction suffer from.

For more information about autoimmune disorders - contact our office in Cornelius NC.